The present invention relates to sealants for baked goods. In particular, the invention provides a sugar, water, and starch hydrolysate composition which when applied to baked goods as a coating reduces the rate of moisture transmission into and out of baked goods.
In the bakery area, continual efforts are directed toward producing appetizing products which must be pleasing to both the eye and to the palate. Bakers have historically been plagued by the desiccation of baked goods and by the deteriorating appearance of frosting, icing or glaze on goods such as cakes, rolls, donuts, strudels, pastries, croissants, biscuits, petit fours, or brownies to name a few.
Deteriorating appearance and taste of baked goods is in part due to moisture migrating from the product's high moisture content area to an area with reduced moisture content. For cakes, this usually means that moisture migrates from the cake into the glaze or icing. Not only does this moisture migration result in a drier cake, it also results in a wetter glaze or icing which has deleterious effects on the product's appearance. When the water content of the icing increases, the icing loses its ability to remain on the cake and slides down the side of the cake. If the icing is on a flat horizontal surface the moisture pools on the surface and causes the sugar within the icing to dissolve in the water. This causes the icing or glaze to become patchy or nonexistent in places where the moisture has pooled thus making the product appear as if its shelf life has been exceeded. For the purposes of this disclosure, an icing is defined as "degraded" when the glaze or icing dissolves, becomes patchy, wrinkled or slides down the side of the cake.
Bakers have known of the problems of icing deteriorating and baked goods desiccating for years. They have also known these problems were caused in part by moisture migrating from the baked good either into the atmosphere or into the icing. Bakers attempted to solve the problem by coating the baked good with a sealant which was applied to the baked product before icing or glaze was applied. Early sealants included fats, waxes, and simple syrups. Although fats and waxes worked well as sealants they created an undesirable mouthfeel and opaque appearance. Additionally, they were unsuitable because glazes or icings did not readily adhere to the slick surfaces.
Simple syrups were also used as sealants. Recipes exist for simple syrups in which sugar, water and corn syrup are combined. The corn syrup which has been used in these recipes is that which can be purchased in the supermarket such as Karo (.TM.) Corn Syrup (Best Foods, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.). This corn syrup is a mixture of 38 to 52 dextrose equivalent (DE) corn syrups combined with high fructose corn syrup for sweetness and vanilla for flavor. Such a corn syrup is quite fluid for handling ease. Lower DE starch hydrolysates have not been used to prepare simple syrups because they are too viscous, too difficult to handle, and not readily available. The simple syrups prepared using commercially available corn syrups such as Karo (.TM.) were marginally effective as sealants. They did not prevent moisture migration over prolonged shelf life nor did they sufficiently prevent moisture migration from products with high water activity.
Therefore, a need exists for a sealant which overcomes the shortcomings of the existing art. The present invention, a sealant composition which when applied to baked goods is transparent and reduces the moisture migration from baked goods either into the atmosphere or into glazes or icings is unique. Further, a sealant which does not produce an undesirable mouthfeel and can maintain the sealing capability over prolonged shelf life to produce a commercially suitable product is novel.